Folding device for attachment to drawing frames



Feb. 14, 1950 H. J. WOODS 2,497,647

FOLDING DEVICE FOR ATTACHMENT TO DRAWING FRAMES Filed June 2, 1947 iatented Feb. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES ifilTENT ()FFICEv Herbert J. Woods, Greensboro. N. (3., assignor to Burlington Mills Corporation, Greensboro, N. (2.

Application June 2, 1947, Serial No. 751,735

2 Claims. 1

The, invention relates to improvements in textile machinery and to the: methodof operating the same, and more particularly tov the use of a folding device for attachment to a drawing frame adjacent the; conventional drawing trumpet and intermediate the conventional drawing rolls and the trumpet.

Among the distinctive features and advantages of my improvement theiollowing points may be noted:

1. The present improvement makes it possible to use a conventional drawing frame of the type ordinarily found in textile mills. for drawing such fibers as nylon or wool without further modification of the tubegear in order to make, passage of the stock practical.

2. By the useof my improvement the operation of the.- machine is made substantially continuous due to the lack of breakages of the fibers resulting from the use of such a. device.

3. By reason of the use of the present improvement the fibers remainmorenearly parallel. to one another and. lend themselves to better operation in the succeeding; processes than has been possiblev prior to my improvement.

4. The improved device also acts as a. trap for any lumps or' bad pieces: of material which may come through with the silver and which would ordinarily stop up the hole in the drawing trumpet.

5. The improved folding device also acts as a stop for small pills of waste or other such material such as is oftentimes knocked off into the web and which would orinarily 'go along with the work and become a part of the sliver after con- 1 densation so that these small particles of foreign matter in the absence of my improvement would become defects in the final material.

6. By the use of my improvement the web is foldedv in an orderly manner, which makes it possible for a drawing frame, using the device to operate as much as 50% higher than the normal operating speed for drawing frames.

7. The improvement adds tothe efficiency and economical operation of the machine as the reduced number of breaks due to the use of this device makes it possible for an operator to run more of the machines with less effort.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and the. following detailed description, which are intended as illustrative only and not as limiting the invention. to the exact details of construction herein shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional drawing frame equipped with my improved folding device, parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the last set of drawing rolls. and a. conventional trumpet; but without my improved folding attachment;

2a is; a diagrammatic cross sectional view intended to illustrate the web of Fig. 2 just before it enters the trumpet; I

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view similar to Fig. 2: but showing the. apparatus equipped with my improved folding device located ad.- jacent the trumpet;

Fig. 3a is; a view similar to Fig. 2a but showing the form of web where the device is equipped with my improved folding attachment; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of Fig. 1 showing the contracting web; the improved folding device, and the drawingtrumpet.

In the drawing, Fig. l discloses a conventional drawing frame or machine equipped with. my improved folding attachment, which attachment is preferably located adjacent the conventional trumpet intermediatev the last set of drawing rolls and the trumpet. The machine maybe of the general, type illustrated in McGinni-s Patent No. 2 .228363, dated January 14, 1941, except that the trumpet may be of the conventional type instead of divided as in. the aforesaid patent.

As shown in the drawing the apparatus comprises a pair of sliver cans X and a series of upper and lower drawing rolls arranged in pairs A, A, B, B. C. C, and D, D, a conventional drawing trumpetN; a pair of calender rolls L, L, and a rotating tube gear 0. These parts are or may be of conventional construction.

My improvement resides in a folding. device which, in the specific embodiment herein disclosed comprises. a pain: of cylindrical guide members M. M which are fastened to a portion of the frame by means of screws, which are drilled ofi. center from the axis of the cylinders M, M so that the cylinders may be rotated about the fastening screws in such a manner as to regulate trumpet and placed fairly close to the trumpet,

the distance between them. The primary ob- '----for a similar purpose.

ject of this folding device is to fold the web insuch a manner that before entering the drawing trumpet N the rough edges of the drawing sliver are folded together and the whole presented to the trumpet in an orderly manner in such a way that the sliver formed by condensation in the trumpet is round and has no hairy projections. In operation the sliver is drawn from the can and passes through a conventional stop motion to the drawing rollers A, B, C, D and A, B, C, D. These rolls are held together by weights suspended from their journals in such a manner that their progressively faster rate of rotation reduces the bulk of the drawing sliver so that a thin web is formed. This web passes through the trumpet and between the calender rolls L and L and then through the rotating tube gear and thence into the can Y. When drawing such fibers as cotton or viscose rayon there is considerable mass cohesion or affinity of one fiber for another, so that thev thin web formed by the drafting rollers is in the form of a continuous sheet and has a quality best described as drape, i. e., the web folds in an orderly manner before entering the drawing trumpet end. In the case, however, of such crimped fibers-as nylon staple and wool and other highly crimped fibers, there is an action in the web whereby the crimp having been withrawn by the drafting action of the rollers restores itself to its naturally crimped condition and the resultant web of the sliver lacks draping qualities and therefore does not drape itself into orderly folds before entering the trumpet. I have found that when operating with such fibers as nylon staple and wool some means is needed to fold the web in an orderly manner before entering the trumpet, for the reason that without such a folding device the resultant sliver has a hairy surface and resists passing through the revolving tube gear 0, with the result that end breakage occurs between L, L' and the tube gear. When a folding device is employed between the drafting rolls and the the orderly folding of the web prevents the web from having a hairy surface by reason of turning the raggy edges of the fiber inwards. The last pair of drafting rolls with the trumpet in proper relationship is indicated in Fig. 2, but without the use of a folding device, and the'figure shows how the sliver folds itself before entering the trumpet. With such fibers as nylon staple and wool the cross-section of the web just before entering the trumpet tends to assume the form shown in Fig. 2a. The same material is shown in Fig. 3 with a folding device preceding the trumpetin such a manner that the cross-section of the web at that point is as shown in Fig. 3a, which figure shows the folded edges of the sliver turned together in such a manner that the sliver, upon leaving the calender rolls L and L, as shown in Fig. 1, and passing then into the tube gear, does not have a rough and hairy surface, and thus passes through the angle of the tube gear 0 without difiiculty.

While the specific folding device as shown in the drawing comprises a pair of cylinders placed in parallel relation to one another, it is apparent that a large variety of devices could be employed A block with a V-shape aperture or a turn-plate arrangement, or any number of variations of the idea may be employed to fold the sliver in this manner before entering the trumpet. It is the primary object of the present invention to teach the use of any suitable means for folding the sliver in an orderly manner on a drawing frame before passing the sliver through the trumpet. While the device is intended primarily for such crimped fibers as nylon staple and wool, it will be apparent that such a device is useful on a drawing frame using any material, as it is better to have a precise and orderly pattern of cross-section in the web rather than to depend upon the natural drape of the material to arrange itself in a more or less orderly manner.

The invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration, but it will be obvious that numerous modifications and variations of the folding device may be resorted to without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. In a drawing frame, including pairs of upper and lower drawing rolls, calender rolls, a tube gear, and a. web'reducing trumpet located adjacent the entrance to the calender rolls, between which rolls a web is adapted to pass on its way from one sliver can to another, the improvement which comprises a web folding device located on the frame adjacent the entrance to the trumpet, arranged to fold the web in an orderly manner before entering the trumpet, said web folding device comprising a pair of upright spaced cylinders between which the web passes on entering the trumpet, one of said cylinders being eccentrically mounted to permit adjustment of the distance between them.

2. In a drawing frame, including pairs of upper and lower drawing rolls, calender rolls, a tube gear, and a web reducing trumpet located adjacent the entrance to the calender rolls, between which rolls a web is adapted to pass on its way from one sliver can to another, the improvement which comprises a web folding device located on the frame adjacent the entrance to the trumpet, arranged to fold the web in an orderly manner before entering the trumpet, said web folding device comprising a pair of upright spaced cylinders between which the web passes on entering the trumpet, said'cylinders being eccentrically mounted to permit adjustment of the distance between them.

, HERBERT J. WOODS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name 

